UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter
Nicole Sotelo | Apr. 3, 2014 Young Voices
When young Isidore’s parents died in the late sixth century, his brother took over parental responsibilities. It is written that his brother’s discipline became so severe that Isidore ran away from home, fleeing what some now believe to have been physically abusive behavior. Isidore’s story bears repeating in our church today not only because his brother, Leander, was supposed to be his caregiver, but because his brother was also the archbishop of Seville, Spain.
Years later, Leander was canonized a saint along with Isidore, whose feast is commemorated April 4.
Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed during a public audience a few years ago that young Isidore “owed much to Leander, an exacting, studious and austere person who created around his younger brother a family context marked by the ascetic requirements proper to a monk.”
While corporal punishment by Leander may have been more acceptable 1,400 years ago, it certainly isn’t “proper” today. Unfortunately, the Vatican sometimes still makes saints, officially or unofficially, out of those responsible for crimes.
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